There's two paths I can honestly see this going and after last night, I think the first path is more likely.1) Since Bettman pulled offer from table and Fehr seems to be going after as much as possible, the Union will decertify, take the NHL to court, and before they would win, the NHL would settle for what was basically the NHLPA's last counteroffer.2) Somehow, they talk again, and pick-up where they last left off, which is extremely close to a deal. The differences between the NHL's offer and the NHLPA's offer is negligible, but the NHL won't even consider the counter offer and the NHLPA won't consider the NHL's offer.

Never thought there would be a season as soon as the Summer ended. Fehr is scorched earth and the owners are looking to the Union to protect them from themselves with the term limits, escalation cap. etc. - in addition to huge salary reductions.

The players have to realize that in a league where 18 of 30 teams are losing money the increase in revenue, the "growth of the game", means nothing. If teams are still not profitable, it makes no difference how much money flows through them - only that more flows out than flows in. Wall Street is littered with big revenue, unprofitable businesses.

This is the reason the NHL has had such a "take it or leave it" stance, because most owners are saving money by not playing under the old CBA. By the time the players get this, it will be well into summer and perhaps even next season.

In the end, I believe that the League is doing what is necessary to save the 30 NHL teams and consequently as many as 120 NHLPA jobs. The players are the stupid ones in my eyes - first for ever hiring Donald Fehr, and then just for being unwilling to accept the reality of their lives. They are highly paid property of their owners. They have limited leverage because their product is not profitable, no matter how much is flying off the shelves.

The owners are making a strong statement collectively that they are done paying for Hockey and expect to be paid back. This is a situation where one side has to be broken, and it is not going to be the owners.